Salpointe's Mario Padilla named Jack in the Box Player of the Week

The past two weeks and for much of the season, Salpointe Catholic has been leaning on a younger player to lead them on offense.

With five touchdowns in each of the last two games, Mario Padilla is our Jack in the Box Player of the Week.

Salpointe is facing a huge test in Class 4A this week in Catalina Foothills. The player who leads the team, according to Coach Dennis Bene, is not old enough to drive, but the Lancers completely trust Mario Padilla with the football.

“No one wants to perform more than Mario,” said Bene. “Nobody wants to win more than him, so it’s easy for me to trust him.”

Salpointe's sophomore star running back is not the biggest guy on the field, but has a set of skills that can rival any player in the state Padilla's ability to turn defenders ankles to jelly has earned him a nickname, the Jukebox.

While his game's impressive he still thinks he can learn in his next two years.

"My leadership skills, they're not where they should be right now and I know over time they will go up," said Padilla. http://tinyurl.com/z6y8wz8